86 Toyota FT-86: First Official Photos of Near-Production RWD Sports Coupe

[Soup]

 

[Centurion]

This is LF-A junior. A dozn oncepts followed by a drawn out testing as a race car.

 

[NarutoRamen]

Let's hope that it is as good. I do like many aspects of this car, but there are certain angles that I don't like as much.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

This is LF-A junior. A dozn oncepts followed by a drawn out testing as a race car.

I think folks @ Toyota want to show that they are serious about this car, and I can't blame them. Toyota has a long way to go in order to shake of the vanilla stigma that they have allowed to associated with. Curious to see how this turns out when it's released in Tokyo this year.

 

[Levi68]

Production Toyota FT-86 revealed via Modellista brochure!!

From Modellista, Toyota's in-house tuning arm!

The brochure mentions no technical details of the production car, but shows plenty of the exterior and interior.

 

[Merc1]

Not bad I guess, but a far cry from the original concept. Whatever that is on the door needs to go. The proof will be in how this thing drives and the price.


M

 

[Cashmere]

^agreed, that shiny turd on the door and the Altezza tail lights need to go!

 

[NarutoRamen]

Count me in for the 3rd person on the get rid of the retarded door strip.

Also, it's not bad guys. I mean for the price of around 20k there is finally a new and inexpensive small rwd coupe. Gotta give them credit for that. In all honesty, that is what I was hoping BMW would do with the 1er, but I guess that will NEVER happen unless I buy second hand. I can't wait for tuners to get their hands on this, parts for this car will be cheap and plenty.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

hate to burst bubbles, but I remember about a year ago, they said the projected base price will be around $23-24K. Not too big of a deal, but it's getting close to alot of good, solid machines that can be had for another couple of grand.

 

[Levi68]

I am to get this car. For me the only alternatives would be 128i Coupé, Cayman, M3 E46. But they are all more expensive. Other ones are FWD or AWD. I don't think what other car can you get that weighs about 110 kg and has 200 PS from a high-revving naturally aspirated engine. This car is what BMW should have built, but they didn't and will probably never. It is als othe last naturally aspirated 4 cylinder engine.

 

[NarutoRamen]

hate to burst bubbles, but I remember about a year ago, they said the projected base price will be around $23-24K. Not too big of a deal, but it's getting close to alot of good, solid machines that can be had for another couple of grand.

Even for that price, there is nothing that even compares. I know that mustang and camaro are close in price, but they are also larger. So the next comparable car to this is 370z, and that is pushing above 30K.

 

[330CIZHP]

Toyota FT-86 “Trounces” Mazda MX-5 in the Fun Department: Report | AutoGuide.com News

FT-86 trounces its closest rival Mazda Miata MX-5 in driving fun factor


Toyota FT-86 “Trounces” Mazda MX-5 in the Fun Department: Report | AutoGuide.com News

With photos leaking yesterday, today comes news of what the Toyota FT-86 is like to drive. But first, the specs. According to one of the journos at CAR Magazine, who had some seat time in the affordable sports car, look for the 2.0-liter to boxer 4-cylinder to develop around 200-hp and 170 lb-ft of torque. The car’s curb weight should be around 2,645 lbs, although the final production number has yet to be released and will differ from market to market. That said, look for a 0-60 time of around 7 seconds.

As for the driving experience, it’s good says CAR‘s Ben Barry after a first-drive of a prototype model. In fact, he says it, “trounces its closest rival, the Mazda MX-5, in the fun stakes.” That’s quite a statement.

Highlights include throttle response and steering with a rev-happy 7500 rpm redline, a soft rev limiter and a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission. Less impressive is the feel of the shifter and the car’s willingness to understeer at higher speeds. Also in the negative column is the ‘Sport’ setting for the stability control system, which is still too intrusive – although engineers are reportedly working on a less restrictive version. And finally, there’s the Torsen limited slip differential, rather than a mechanical one, although Toyota engineers are reportedly also planning on offering a version with a mechanical LSD, as well as other upgraded components, like Brembo brakes.

The drive was of a prototype model and Toyota intended to use the info to help develop the final production version, so we’ll await our first chance behind the wheel and relay our impressions as soon as possible.

Under neath the bodywork is a MacPherson front end and a double wishbone rear suspension setup and the test car even had pricey Sachs shocks. The car’s weight balance is projected to be around 53/47.

Other items of note is a standard keyless ignition system, while a six-speed automatic will be offered, reportedly based on the 8-speed in the IS-F, so look for some pretty quick shifts.

 

[Levi68]

Originally Posted by Moto via facebook

Chief Engineer, Mr.Tada of TOYOTA wrote to me today.
I'll roughly translate the message:
---

We had a chance to have Mr.Keiichi Tsuchiya test drive our production car today, and he commented as follows...

"The car (FT86) is not only FUN to drive, but in terms of quality and precision of handling, the car has very much surpassed any expectations I had. More easily put, if you had blind folded me and told me this was a new creation by BMW's M department, I would not even hesitate to believe you. It's that good."

Toyota FT-86 coupe (2012) CAR review

By Ben Barry

28 October 2011 10:55




On 20 May 2011, CAR was allowed behind the wheel of a Toyota FT-86 development mule to get our own driving impressions and to give feedback to Toyota’s engineers during a secretive test session in Germany. Now, as the car is about to be unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo motor show, it’s time to reveal all.

Where does the Toyota FT-86 name come from?

‘FT’ means Future Toyota, and is a label given to Toyota concept cars. The ‘86’ plays on the Toyota Corolla GT Coupe, the 1.6-litre DOHC, rear-wheel drive coupe that enthusiasts refer to by its AE86 chassis-code. The implication, then, is that the FT-86 is a 21st century AE86.

The FT-86 tag will be dropped for production. At the time of our drive, there was still a great deal of debate as to what the car would be called. The engineers were very keen on the AE86 link, while the marketeers thought that very few people would know what that symbolised – they preferred Celica. It is, however, likely that an 86 suffix will appear in some markets.

What's the specification of the new Toyota FT-86?

The key info here is that Toyota is developing the FT-86 in tandem with Subaru, who will also sell the car, in much the same way that Citroen, Toyota and Peugeot sell the C3/Aygo/107. So, this explains why the FT-86 uses a Subaru 2.0-litre flat-four engine that produces around 200bhp and 170lb ft. Unlike pretty much everyone else these days, Toyota has shunned turbocharging, but the engine does benefit from Toyota’s D4S direct injection, which helps towards a C02 figure of around 160g/km – a similarly powerful Renaultsport Clio manages 190g/km.

The engine is mounted up front, but low and relatively far back in the engine bay. It’s mated to a close-ratio Aisin gearbox (as used by Toyota elsewhere), while a Torsen rear differential sits between the driven rear wheels. The overall weight distribution is 53/47% front to rear, while the production car will weight around 1200kg.

The platform is newly developed, and I managed to put eight of my size 11 footsteps between the front and rear wheelhubs, giving a wheelbase of around 2400mm – similar dimensions to a Mini hatchback.

Elsewhere, there’s MacPherson strut front suspension, and a double wishbone rear-end. Mitsubishi supplies the springs, while test cars ran both Sachs and Showa shock absorbers – we tested the Sachs set-up.

What's the FT-86 like inside?

You sit low down – lower than a Porsche Cayman, claim the engineers – and squish into a comfortable seat with leather bolsters and grippy suede centres. The driving position is excellent. The FT-86 is strictly a 2+2: there was no room whatsoever for my legs in the back with a six-feet-tall driver in the front.

The rest of the interior was still heavily camouflaged but we did see aluminum finishes on the rotary climate control dials, plus a row of aluminium-topped switches. Toyota’s ‘keyless go’ is standard, but we couldn't see the zip-up dashboard cover like on the concept car, forum watchers take note!

What's the 2012 Toyota FT-86 like to drive?

It’s great fun. There’s fantastic throttle response, quick, well weighted steering and a nice firm brake pedal. Add little inputs to the steering when you’re driving in a straight line at speed and the front end darts immediately – no slop, no roll, it’s just 100% obedient and alert.

Clearly, it’s not a GT-R chaser, but that’s the whole point – the focus here is on dynamics you can explore at lower speeds. The flat-four zings happily and spins round the dial to 7500rpm, at which point you get a flashing light and a well-judged soft rev limiter – not a sudden cut-out. Doesn’t sound much like a flat-four though – perhaps this is intentional, as the flat-four sound is such a Subaru trademark.

The gear ratios are closely stacked, and help to keep this modestly powered 2.0-litre spinning, but the ratios are well chosen so as not to be tiresome: 60mph in sixth gear brings up 2500rpm – relatively high, yes, but not daft. The gearshift could be slicker, but the lever has an engagingly short throw.

Even without sliding it around, the FT-86 is very obviously rear-wheel drive: get to the limit in a second-gear corner and accelerate harder and you feel the back end point the front back exactly where you want it. It responds well to a really aggressive driving style. Shame that the stability controls’ Sport setting was too intrusive, although Toyota’s engineers said they had a less intrusive set-up that they were also experimenting with.

It must be a blast to slide around…

Drifting is a huge part of the appeal of the FT-86, just as it continues to be for the AE86. Our car was fitted with 215/45 R17 Michelin Green X tyres all round – aka Toyota Prius tyres. This made it laughably sideways in second gear, the back end stepping out with relatively mild – and sometimes almost no – provocation. For the average driver, this makes exploring the limits far easier than in anything else currently on sale.

However, at higher speeds I found the balance less pleasing. In fast third-gear turns, for instance, the front end feels too soft and errs towards understeer – it could be pointier, firmer and more positive. Under provocation, the rear then comes around, but the FT-86 is so short that this transition can be very quick. Two factors then come into play: the first is the Torsen diff, which is more refined in day-to-day driving, but less precise than a mechanical differential when the rear tyres are struggling for purchase, so the level of control you have over the sliding rear end is compromised; the second point is the lack of power: adding power during slides helps you to bring things back under control, but in a high-speed FT-86 you’re more in the hands of momentum than you are able to dictate things with the throttle.

So the FT-86's a hooligan oversteer specialist?

At one point I found myself snapping into very fast oversteer, then suddenly snapping back and making an out-of-control excursion across the run-off area. My mistake, yes, but I’ve never had this feeling in any other modern rear-wheel drive car, 911 GT3 included.

Is there going to be an FT-86 with more power and a mechanical differential?

Turbocharging the flat-four would be straightforward (after all, that’s what Subaru does with the Impreza), but chief engineer Tetsuya Tada told us that he ‘doesn’t like turbos’ and has ‘decided to reject the numeric power war’. He also said that an R version of the FT-86 was coming with less weight, Brembo brakes (our test car’s stoppers were from Hitachi), a rollcage, a larger rear wing, no rear seats and, yes, a mechanical LSD but no more power.

And bear in mind that Toyota had invited us for our input and that this was a fairly early car – things will be tweaked for production. Our cars were still disguised, although pictures of the FT-86 production car have leaked out in recent days.

Other options are also on the cards: a convertible is ‘possible’, while an auto gearbox is confirmed – it’s a six-speed unit based on the eight-speeder in the high-performance Lexus ISF.

Verdict

The Toyota FT-86 is great news for enthusiasts: it’s affordable, frugal and relatively practical. You also don’t have to be a driving deity to explore its limits. If anything, we’d adjust the high-speed, on-limit balance (firmer front end, more progressive transition into oversteer, tighter differential), but that doesn’t undo the underlying fact that this is a great car, and one that trounces its closest rival, the Mazda MX-5, in the fun stakes.

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/...2-CAR-review-/

 

[martinbo]

For the love of mercy, a Torsen differential is a mechanical diff!

 

[mini_cooper4]

For the love of mercy, a Torsen differential is a mechanical diff!

The only thing that's making me reconsider my will to buy this great little car.
But it has to be cheap at the end and that's why we won't get electronic LSD.
At the end if priced around 20000euro with good standard equipment it would be a best-seller and I'll be one of the first owners for sure

 

[Zafiro]

Oh no, not those see through Lexus look-a-like rear lights again.

 

[mini_cooper4]

Hmmm I see this car as today's E30 M3.
If it gives the right vibes it might be young people's dream car right before the M3.
I'm more than enthused about this car! I can't wait to see first test results
200hp from a high revving 2.0-litre flat-four N/A engine... sounds like a dream at weight of only 1200kg.

 

[Centurion]

Bring this car out already. Toyota is taking to long. Nevertheless the desirability will still be there. It's been a while since I was this excited about a Toyota.

 

[330CIZHP]

The only thing that's making me reconsider my will to buy this great little car.
But it has to be cheap at the end and that's why we won't get LSD.
At the end if priced around 20000euro with good standard equipment it would be a best-seller and I'll be one of the first owners for sure

Martinbo was saying, Torsen limited slip differential IS a mechanical differential. They keep referring to it as an electronic LSD, which is ignorance on their part. It will be standard on all FT-86.

I think Toyota should make the power around 230 - 240 HP (which should be easy to get from a 2.0 Liter naturally aspirated direct injected engine) and with 2400 - 2600 lbs weight this car will be perfect.

 

[klier]

Easy to get 240 hp NA from a 2.0 4 cylinder? Surely not..